Ezekiel

And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

1In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me. He said:

2Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:

2"Son of man, Tyre has said about Jerusalem, 'Good! The gate to the nations is broken. It has swung open to me. Now that she lies in ruins, I will be filled.'

Note"Tyrus" is the KJV spelling of Tyre, a wealthy trading city on the coast north of Israel. "Replenished" in 1611 English meant "filled up," not "filled again." Tyre expects the trade that once passed through Jerusalem to come to her instead.

3Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.

3So this is what the Lord GOD says: I am against you, Tyre. I will bring many nations up against you, the way the sea sends up its waves.

4And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.

4They will tear down the walls of Tyre and knock over her towers. I will scrape the soil off her and leave her bare rock.

5It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.

5She will be a place in the sea where fishermen spread their nets. I have spoken, says the Lord GOD. The nations will carry off her goods.

6And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

6Her towns on the mainland will be killed with the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

Note"Her daughters which are in the field" means the smaller towns and villages on the mainland that belonged to Tyre. The main city itself sat on an island.

7For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.

7For this is what the Lord GOD says: I am bringing Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon against Tyre from the north. He is a king over other kings. He comes with horses, chariots, riders, and a huge army.

Note"Nebuchadrezzar" is another spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.

8He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee.

8He will kill the people of your mainland towns with the sword. He will build siege works against you, pile up a ramp to your wall, and raise his shields.

9And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers.

9He will drive his battering rams against your walls. With his axes he will break down your towers.

10By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach.

10He has so many horses that their dust will cover you. He will ride in through your gates like men entering a city with a hole smashed in its wall. Your walls will shake at the noise of riders, wagons, and chariots.

11With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground.

11His horses' hooves will trample every one of your streets. He will kill your people with the sword. Your strong stone pillars will crash to the ground.

12And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.

12They will take your riches and haul off the goods you sell. They will break down your walls and wreck your fine houses. Your stones, your timber, and your dirt they will dump into the water.

13And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.

13I will put an end to the sound of your songs. No one will hear your harps playing anymore.

14And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.

14I will leave you bare rock, a place where fishermen spread their nets. You will never be rebuilt. I the LORD have spoken, says the Lord GOD.

15Thus saith the Lord GOD to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?

15This is what the Lord GOD says to Tyre: When you fall, the lands along the coast will shake at the sound. The wounded will groan while the killing goes on inside you.

16Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee.

16Then all the rulers of the sea will step down from their thrones. They will lay aside their robes and take off their fancy embroidered clothes. Fear will cover them like clothing. They will sit on the ground, shaking again and again, stunned at what happened to you.

17And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!

17They will sing a sad song for you: "How you are destroyed, city of sailors! You were famous and strong at sea, you and everyone in you. You made all who lived there afraid of you."

18Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.

18Now the coastlands shake on the day you fall. The islands out in the sea are shaken because you are gone.

19For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;

19For this is what the Lord GOD says: I will make you an empty city, like cities where no one lives at all. I will bring the deep sea up over you, and great waters will cover you.

20When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;

20Then I will send you down with those who go down to the pit, to people who died long ago. I will put you in the world below, among ruins from ancient times, with those who go down to the pit. No one will live in you, and you will have no place of honor in the land of the living.

Note"The pit" is an old way of speaking about the grave, the place of the dead.

21I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord GOD.

21I will make you a horror, and you will be no more. People will look for you, but they will never find you again, says the Lord GOD.